I woke up to sunlight shining on our tent. I patted around my pillow for my cell phone to check the time. It was 7 am. I could hear people moving around the campsite: tent zipping and unzipping, sleeping bag rustling...

In the fall of 1995, I entered sixth grade, the final year of elementary school. The atmosphere in our classroom was noticeably different from what it had been in the previous five years. Everyone was feeling the squeeze of the upcoming Middle School Entrance Exam...